I'm with you Ginny.  I may have been a nurse for a good number of years but that doesn't mean I'm afraid to stay current on things that are important.  Probably why I went back to graduate at 50 years old.  Maybe I can see myself as Old Guard when it comes to striving to maintain nursing as a profession not just something that pays better than being secretary.  I'm definitely NOT saying that is the mindset of younger nurses but having worked with enough people in the hospital who are "going to nursing school" I can see this theory in some of them.  The unit secretary said to me the other day "I can't wait to graduate from nursing school so nobody can tell me what to do".  I told her to let me know when that happens. 

I love it. Thanks for the invite.

Comments:

1. When I was in nursing school most of the new students (right out of high school) gave as a reason "my parents are making me go." Of course, most of them dropped out after the first semester!

2. I am in the Guard (Army) and feel very old, so I guess I AM Old Guard!

3. shrinklpn - I worked psych for years - Loved it!

If expecting nurses to do the job they went to school for makes me Old School as I have been called then so be it.  To me it simply means putting the patient first not after a break, a meeting with adm., salary, etc.

racynote says ...

If expecting nurses to do the job they went to school for makes me Old School as I have been called then so be it.  To me it simply means putting the patient first not after a break, a meeting with adm., salary, etc.

Amen to that! That is what it is all about.

Thanks for the invite. Great group. I have been a nurse for two years, and always eager to learn and listen. 

Stay eager to learn. You will always learn something not matter how long you are in nursing if you are willing.

Wow, what a great group !  It also gets on my nerves to hear a student or potential student who might choose nursing because of the 'job security'.  It takes somebody special, who does put the patient first.  But  man................I've seen alot of students that seem to radiate great potential.  I truly enjoy any help anybody asks of me and I consider it a huge compliment.  Thing is, compared to alot of yall, Im still a 'baby' in the field since I graduated and got licensed in 1997.  It seems like yesterday and I learn new stuff everyday still and that amazes me. I'm now working on my BSN and remember I dont like school!  The fall is here, my favorite time of year and beautiful in NW Georgia, and its hard to keep my head in the books!  Crappy core classes gripe me. 

thanks cdnurse for the invite. will i havent heard any terms regarding an old broad or an old guard. well whatever you do in your nursing career and it benefits the patients cont. on. i know i try to keep up on the lastest nursing stories. but here lately i have been so busy trying to take care of home. the reason why i became a nures was to help people. yes i will go that extra mile to find that one answer that a patient has had on their mind god know how long. when that happens i feel that i have done justice. Before i go to work i ask God to connect me with a patient that i can help the spiritual or vice versa. At the end to the day i look back and thank God for putting that patient on my shift. i an like you cdnurse, when i train someone, i like to give out what i would call important information that i did not receive during my training.

it does irritate me the find out that a person became a nurse just for the money. i hurts even worse that a patient can see that same thing. yes, one can make money as a nurse but the bottom line, what are they doing with that money.

well cdnurse i will not call you an old guard nor an old broad, i will call you lady with understanding, caring, and wisdom

Old school.... the terms smacks of not being with the times.  I know how I was raised, you do your job, you follow your supervisor's instructions, say yes ma'am and yes sir to those older than you. or those in authority.  Taking care of someone came first, what you thought about it didn't matter at the time.  If being old school means dedicated to your profession, what it conveys in responsibility and professionalism, them so be it.

I would rather be termed Old School than going to school to be a nurse just for the paycheck.  It's not about the money, to me, it's all about service and caring for others.

I am always surprised how many sutdents had no idea that they would have to work weekends, holidays  and nights.

I have commented alot about old guard, or even old school nurses. I have had the opportunity to have been mentor by alot of old school nurses, my nursing school director in college, was one of the old school or old guard nurses. Believe me, you see caring in their eyes, not money. I recently was a HHA, CNA for a nursing school instructor. She said, she loved teaching her students, to learn how to touch the patients, because many of the nursing students or afraid to touch their patients. I have also witness many of my patients, die, and have held their hands through their transition, it is nothing in this world, that can suffice, the love of a nurse, who cares.

angienwgeorgia says ...

cdnurse says ...

I am always surprised how many sutdents had no idea that they would have to work weekends, holidays  and nights.

am I the only who uses work to get out of family functions?  If an occasion comes around and certain relatives are going to be there, I volunteer to pull a weekend, lol.  It might sound bad when you read that sentence..............but having a shift in the hospital on the weekend can be consisdered 'refuge' as well.  I also use my job as a productive way to keep my mind busy when life on a personal basis gets stressful.

I've done the same.  I'd rather work sometimes than interact with a family member I truly wish I wasn't related to.

Thanks for the invite!  I'm very flattered.  While I've only been a nurse for 3 years, I've had a lot of influence from "Old School" nurses.  They are the ones who have given me the best advice to live by, to save my butt AND keep my patients safe.   I've assimilated their pragmatism into my own practice, and unless people know my background really well they just assume I am "Old Guard" too.  In a sense I have already paid my dues as a psych tech and a unit clerk.  I know how things roll in a hospital.

My reasons for going into nursing are many:  the myriad of skills I could learn, being able to apply my talents as a listener and a one-on-one teacher, belonging to and identifying with an actual profession, and being able to learn and grow from every interaction.  In total honesty, job security DID figure into my choice to become a nurse, but that was because I had a lot of job instability that I was coming from. 

I don't get the current attitude of entitlement some new nurses and nursing students have, that they won't have to work weekends and holidays and that no one will be telling them what to do.  When reality comes crashing down on their heads, it won't be pleasant.  Not a day goes by when someone isn't telling me what to do, and sometimes people aren't nice about it.    I really have a tough time understanding where the "New School" is coming from when it comes to working weekends and holidays, especially if they want more money (don't they know that the bars are open during the week too?).   Working weekends and holidays are a blast for me!  I get to spend more time getting to know my patients, and it adds flavor to the working relationship when you can talk about how to decorate the unit Christmas tree or share tips on how to cook a turkey with your patients.

Unfortunately, I also know a lot of "Old Guard" nurses with a "New School" attitude.  Yes, they have paid their dues, but the world owes them nothing.  These other folks tend to talk out of their behinds a lot, they whine and complain, and they dump everything on to everyone else (usually me).  Then they try to tell me that this is how nursing is, which is a load of crap.  I've known men and women who have worked in nursing for 30 years, and they are sharp, proactive team players.  They are usually picking my brains because I just graduated and I am Internet savvy; we make a good combination.  

So, I guess if I am a young old broad because I don't take crap from either group, that's fine with me.  Thanks for letting me share.  Anything to allow me to continue enjoying my job.

Ginny I understand. I have been a nurse a while and sometimes when you are attemptin to explain things "the correct way" some new nurses think they "know it all". Listen everyone. You learn something new everyday. The day you think you know it all is the day you will die or you are dead. Remember, you never know who will teach you something.

Karen